Most Recent Extra Points

Any Given Sunday: Bills Over Colts

by Andrew Healy

For ten years, we have used this space to highlight a notable upset and look at where the teams involved might be headed this season. We will often default to the biggest point spread, but not this week. With apologies to Rams and Titans fans, no game this week gave more cause for rethinking what we thought we knew than the systematic dismantling that took place in Buffalo on Sunday.

Some thought the Colts' offense might be historically good this year, but Rex Ryan's defense held that offense without a point until late in the third quarter. And how they did it felt eminently repeatable. Coaching an excellent secondary for the first time in years, Ryan consistently brought blitzes that he had forgone towards the end of his tenure with the Jets. The pressure that he can bring will only get scarier when Mr. Big Stuff (defensive tackle Marcell Dareus) returns in Week 2.

More on the blitzes to come in a bit, but let's start with the simplest reason this game might mean more than your garden-variety season opener. Unlike in 2004 when the Bills blew out the Patriots in Week 1, the regime has changed this year. Maybe everything is different now that Sexy Rexy has replaced Dour Doug.

Does a big season opener mean more when it comes on the heels of a coaching change? If we go back to 1990 and look at all the cases where teams covered the Week 1 point spread by more than a touchdown, we can see how much a surprising season-opening performance means for wins the rest of the season.